TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN SOVIET AND PRESENT-DAY RUSSIA: A COMPARISON OF TWO SYSTEMS

The paper explores recent changes in standards, forms and practices of teaching foreign languages in the present-day Russia against the system that existed in the Soviet period. A combination of theoretical and empirical methods and research practices are used to demonstrate that the changes were for the best, although most of them were not results of well-balanced state policy meeting new education goals. The research suggests that the current boom in learning foreign languages in Russia is mostly due to the new political, ideological, social and economic climate in the country. The nature and extent of influence produced by external factors on the course content, goals, expected results, teaching methods and resources are further discussed.